This invention relates to a pizza food product and a kit for assembling a deep dish pizza. The pizza crust of this invention is especially adapted for use in cartons and/or packages which also contain the other pizza ingredients necessary to assemble a snack or single-service sized, deep dish, ready-to-eat pizza.
Pizzas, while widely available frozen, are generally not as widely available refrigerated. In general, available pizza products, frozen or refrigerated, need to be fully baked before they can be eaten. Once a fully baked pizza crust has been refrigerated or frozen, it tends to xe2x80x9ctoughenxe2x80x9d or become leathery, stale, and/or dry. See, for example, David, English Bread and Yeast Cookery, American Edition, p. 255 (Viking Press, New York 1977). When a crust becomes xe2x80x9cleatheryxe2x80x9d (a term of art), it becomes harder to chew and loses its xe2x80x9cchewability.xe2x80x9d Furthermore, the distinction between the crisper bottom of the crust and the softer top part of the crust is generally lost when a baked crust is refrigerated.
Reheating pizza does not generally allow the crust""s texture to return to its original state and may, in fact, further xe2x80x9ctoughenxe2x80x9d it to an even more leathery texture. While such leftover pizza may be fully edible from all health and safety considerations, the organoleptic properties are generally diminished. Much of the loss of quality is due to the crust becoming more leathery. Fully baked pizzas or pizzas having a fully baked crust are not often found in grocery refrigerator or freezer cases.
Refrigerated pizzas with unbaked crust have their own problems. These include, for example, (1) sauce soaking into the crust (moisture migration), (2) sauce and other toppings becoming maldistributed on or knocked off the crust during transport, and (3) flavor, odor and microbiological migration (e.g., from sauce or meat to cheese). Moreover, such products must also be baked by the consumer thereby diminishing the convenience desired by most consumers. Even when baked in the home kitchen with conventional ovens, the overall quality is not as high as desired.
Feldmeir et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,558, provided a meal kit containing a baked bread or dough product in a sealed pouch which is contained within a compartment contained within a base tray having an anti-fogging agent component. The anti-fogging agent assists in maintaining freshness and retarding staling under refrigerated, non-frozen conditions. Generally the anti-fogging agent is contained within a layer of the base trap or in other container elements so that enters the compartment in a time release manner so that it gradually blooms onto the internal surfaces within the meal kit. The anti-fogging agent is though to prevent the formation of water droplets within the container and thereby allow any trapped moisture to more easily evaporate from the meal kit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,084 provided a packaged pizza product containing a pre-baked pizza crust and other pizza ingredients (i.e., pizza sauce and one or more pizza toppings). The pizza crusts included in the kit of this patent were generally flat, thin, and circular.
There remains a need for a pizza crust which can be fully baked, refrigerated, and subsequently eaten cold, warm, or hot (i.e., reheated) without the need for further baking and without becoming leathery and which retains the desired crust properties (especially relating to texture) while, at the same time, providing a relatively rigid, but soft, crust upon which toppings can be placed. Moreover, there still remains the need for a fully baked deep dish pizza crust which can be used in a kit format and which retains its soft texture throughout the expected shelf life of the kit and remains tasty and chewable when eaten hot or cold. There further exists a need for a ready-to-eat deep dish pizza and kit containing a deep dish baked crust which can be refrigerated without the crust becoming leathery, dry, and/or stale; and which remains equally tasty and satisfactorily chewable either hot or cold. There further exists a need for a ready-to-eat deep dish pizza and kit containing a deep dish baked crust which can be refrigerated without the crust becoming leathery, dry, and/or stale; which remains equally tasty and satisfactorily chewable either hot or cold; and which does not require the use of an anti-fogging agent.
The present invention provides such deep dish, fully baked, ready-to-assemble pizza crusts and kits containing such pizza crusts in combination with other pizza components such as, for example, pizza sauces, cheeses, and/or toppings. Once assembled, the deep dish pizzas of this invention can be eaten as is or after heating.
The invention comprises a farinaceous pizza crust which can be fully baked, then refrigerated and later served cold or reheated without becoming leathery, dry, stale and/or tough. Preferably, the pizza crust is configured to have a deep dish shape. After baking, the crust preferably has a water activity in the range of about 0.90 to about 0.95 and retains satisfactory texture and chewability characteristics throughout a refrigerated shelf life that may be, e.g., about 75 days. The pizza crust is preferably adapted for use in a xe2x80x9csingle-servingxe2x80x9d kit which allows easy preparation of a ready-to-eat, deep dish pizza. The kit preferably contains (1) at least one of the pizza crusts, (2) pizza sauce, (3) one or more cheese products, and, if desired, (4) one or more additional components that may include, for example, proteinaceous components such as sausage, pepperoni, ham or anchovies, or vegetable components such as slices of green pepper or olives. The pizza crust products and kits containing the pizza crust products of the present invention do not require the use of an anti-fogging agent to achieve the desired shelf life. The kit may also contain other items, e.g., a soft drink or other beverage and/or candy item. Preferably, the kit is contained in a single serve package having separate pouches and/or compartments for each of the various components to be separately sealed under an inert atmosphere to increase the shelf life of the product or kit. The seals are preferably hermetic, and are capable of withstanding stresses and strains associated with shipping and handling, including pressure variations associated with transport to and through high altitudes.